This past weekend I had the opportunity to play in a Pauper 1K hosted by Sylvan Factory Games in Ann Arbor, MI. Not only did I play in the tournament but also the owner allowed me to peek behind the curtain of the metagame as a whole.
Southeastern Michigan has an active and enthusiastic MTG Pauper Community and we’re thrilled to have back-to-back Pauper 1K events in our backyard at Sylvan Factory (39 players) and at RIW this upcoming weekend. In today’s article I’ll be breaking down last weekend’s post-ban Meta from Sylvan Factory as preparation for the upcoming May 25th RIW 1K event.
Metagame Breakdown (39 Players)
| Archetype | # of Pilots | Metagame % |
|---|---|---|
| Archetype | 7 | 18% |
| Dimir Terror | 7 | 18% |
| Dimir Faeries | 2 | 8% |
| Golgari Gardens | 3 | 8% |
| Azourious Familiars | 3 | 8% |
| Boros Synth | 3 | 8% |
| Rakdos Madness | 3 | 5% |
| Gruul Ponza | 2 | 5% |
| Black Burn | 2 | 5% |
| Kuldotha Red | 2 | 5% |
| Cawgates | 1 | 3% |
| Turbo Fog | 1 | 3% |
| Ephemerate Tron | 1 | 3% |
| Cycle Storm | 1 | 3% |
| Jeskai Ephemrate | 1 | 3% |
| Izzet Skred | 1 | 3% |
| White Weenie | 1 | 3% |
| Dredge | 1 | 3% |
| Izzet Archer | 1 | 3% |
| Moggwarts | 1 | 3% |
| U Terror | 1 | 3% |
| Burn “Fiend” | 1 | 3% |
Top 8 Results after elimination Rounds
| 1st | Caw Gates | Cam Sumner |
| 2nd | Turbo Fog | Mike Antrim |
| 3rd | Rakdos Madness | Nick Renburg |
| 4th | Rakdos Madness | Jason Blackwood |
| 5th | Ephemerate Tron | Travis Canyock |
| 6th | Cycle Storm | Gary Smith |
| 7th | Dimir Faeries | Fanfan Zheng |
| 8th | Golgari Gardens | Zach A. |
As you can see, the event was taken down by Caw Gates piloted by my close friend & RIW regular Cam Sumner! Which was clearly a good choice as he only lost TWO games over the course of the entire event and both in the elimination rounds! Here is Cam’s winning list:
Caw Gates by Cam Sumner:
1st Place, Sylvan Factory 1K
1 Dawnbringer Cleric
2 Guardian of the Guildpact
2 Outlaw Medic
4 Sacred Cat
4 Squadron Hawk
3 Brainstorm
4 Counterspell
1 Dispel
4 Lorien Revealed
2 Preordain
4 Prismatic Strands
4 Journey to Nowhere
4 The Modern Age
3 Azorius Guildgate
4 Basilisk Gate
4 Citadel Gate
1 Glacial Floodplain
1 Heap Gate
3 Island
1 Plains
4 Sea Gate
Sideboard:
2 Annul
1 Blue Elemental Blast
2 Breath Weapon
2 Hydroblast
4 Red Elemental Blast
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Standard Bearer
The information provided from this event tells us a few things that can be useful for RIW’s Pauper 1K this Saturday.
First, there were 21 different archetypes represented! Second, there were 3 decks in top 8 that only had 1 pilot (Caw Gates, Ephemerate Tron & Turbo Fog) so being skillful at your deck has some real power behind it. Third, Kuldotha Red & Dimir Terror both are popular decks at these local events but did not convert well in this event. Lastly, in a post Glitters ban world you can play strategies that may have previously been not as well positioned like Gruul Ponza (my choice for this event).
At the weekly RIW Pauper events people tend to play midrange/control decks that have either W, U or B in them. That is why I am playing Gruul Ponza or Rakdos Madness this Saturday. Gruul Ponza is extremely good at keeping these midrange/control decks at bay by destroying their most valuable resources, their lands.
Rakdos Madness may seem like an odd choice but Madness has what it takes to close out games fast and hang with the grindy decks in the format especially with cards like Fodder Tosser.
Rakdos Madness by Jason Blackwood:
4th Place, SYLVAN FACTORY PAUPER 1K
4 Goblin Tomb Raider
4 Voldaren Epicure
4 Kitchen Imp
4 Galvanic Blast
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Deadly Dispute
1 Demand Answers
4 Fiery Temper
4 Faithless Looting
4 Vampire’s Kiss
4 Alms of the Vein
2 Fodder Tosser
4 Drossforge Bridge
4 Great Furnace
4 Mountain
2 Rakdos Carnarium
1 Swamp
4 Vault of Whispers
Sideboard:
2 Electrickery
2 Red Elemntal Blast
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Cast Down
3 Contaminated Grounds
4 Smash to Smithereens
Jason is the person who has got me wanting to play the Rakdos Madness deck. He also made me a Fodder Tosser believer while I watched both Jason and Nick in top 8 and top 4 where that card did some serious damage. The differences in their lists were Jagged Barens vs Rakdos Carnarium and 2 more basics and some sideboard slots. If I land on Rakdos Madness I would probably end up on a hybrid of the 2 lists. While we are looking at decklists here is the Ponza list I ran this weekend and am most likely to be running back this weekend:
Gruul Ponza by Michael Russo
4 Arbor Elf
3 Llanowar Visionary
1 Crimson Fleet Commodore
4 Avenging Hunter
4 Boarding Party
4 Generous Ent
4 Annoyed Altisaur
3 Skred
4Thermokarst
4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss
4 Utopia Sprawl
3 Wild Growth
1 Higland Forest
16 Snow-Covered Forest
1 Snow-Covered Mountain
Sideboard:
3 Relic of Progenitus
4 Deglamer
4 Weather the Strom
4 Breath Weapon
You can play around with the sideboard a bit by trimming or cutting Relics if you are trying to shore up certain matchups. For example:
-Red Elemental Blast / Pyroblast for Dimir Faeries, Dimir Terror & Mono U Terror
-Gorilla Shaman / Cast into the Fire for Grixis Affinity & Boros Synth
-Elecktrickey / End the Festivities for Kuldotha Red, Dimir Faeries & Elves
-Flaring Pain for Turbo Fog & Caw Gates
Tune these decks for your expected metagame and if you have any questions feel free to DM me at @MichaelArmand0 on Twitter/X or message me on Facebook (Michael Armando Russo). Also don’t forget to come hangout with me on Tuesday nights at www.twitch.tv/riwhobbies at 7pm EST where you can check out the latest in Pauper!
